WTN: Memorial

[David M. Bueker]

A few weeks ago a box arrived unannounced from Patricia Green Cellars. Inside were two bottles of wine, along with a hand written note of condolences from Jim Anderson. I needed a little time to process, and I suspect the wine was happy to rest for a while. Tonight seemed like the right time.

2016 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Mortimer Claggett Cooke III Celebratory Balcombe Vineyard Dundee Hills - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (3/6/2023)
Only gave this an hour of air, so it was still a little grumpy, and a bit simple/juicy for a bit. After about two hours it turned a corner, as the fruit focused, and it was supplemented by an intense earthy aroma with touches of fresh tobacco drying in a shed on a warm, late summer afternoon. The combination of of elements reminded me of late afternoons/early evenings at here in Connecticut, where wild blackberries are ripe on the thorny bushes, and the shade tobacco has been picked and hung. It’s warm out, but the intense heat and humidity has passed, to the point where it’s fine to stand outside waiting for the fireflies to start flashing, and the bats to flutter past on their nightly quest for a meal of mosquitoes. It’s home.

Classy move by Jim Anderson. Glad to hear you enjoyed the wine.

[David M. Bueker]

Me too. Would have been awkward if I didn’t like it.

[Jenise]

Applause to Jim Anderson, and to your notewriting skills. Best read of the day.

[Robin Garr]

I agree with Jenise on both counts.

Having grown up in Wethersfield, CT I enjoyed your description of a late summer's afternoon in the Constitution State. I remember driving past the shade tobacco fields along rte. 15 (later I-84) from Hartford to Sturbridge, MA. A lot of the shade tobacco was exported to Cuba to serve as wrappers for the famous Havana cigars. Is shade tobacco still grown in Connecticut?

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Is shade tobacco still grown in Connecticut?

Yes it is, though not nearly as much. A lot is now being grown in Ecuador, which has had a negative effect on the CT farms. That said it still happens, and one of the guys in my tasting group is actually the current owner of the oldest operating family farm in the United States. He grows some shade, some broadleaf, and now, to diversify his products, barley. He built a malt house and supplies craft breweries.